In Psalm 68, when the psalmist outlines God’s best plan for the lonely and vulnerable, he says, “God places the lonely in families” (v. 6, NLT).

Around the world, millions of children live in orphanages or on the streets. Not because they don’t have families, but because poverty, crisis, or trauma have separated them from their families. Yet every child longs for a home, a place where they belong and thrive.

At Tyndale House Foundation, we believe every child deserves a home and family where they are loved and well cared for. That’s why we support Casa Viva, a ministry that works to train institutions and the church on separation prevention, family reunification, and family management strategies that turn buildings with beds into homes where children are loved and cared for.

Casa Viva began with a simple yet radical vision to help children grow up in families, not institutions. Founded in Costa Rica, Casa Viva partners with local churches and child welfare systems to identify, train, and support families who can temporarily or permanently welcome children into their homes.

The problem of caring for children is multi-faceted but begins with the breakdown of the family unit due to dysfunction, drug and alcohol addictions, poverty, and more. Children living in these environments experience deep trauma and often delayed development. When children are separated from even unhealthy homes, that adds another layer of trauma. Over the years, research has shown that institutional homes cannot adequately address the personal needs of children, which contributes to a negative impact on a child’s cognitive development and overall mental health, including the ability to form healthy relationships. Casa Viva believes that we can do better than this.

Through comprehensive and tailored training, Casa Viva equips local churches and orphanages to better support vulnerable families, prevent separation, and create alternative solutions within local communities.

In Paraguay, Casa Viva worked with a children’s home known as “the most influential project in Paraguay.” The home was located in a warehouse-style dorm that housed 50 girls and 50 boys. Team members could not imagine how they could alter the open layout to become more family friendly.

After attending a seminar hosted by Casa Viva, the team members were convinced that not only did they need to change, but they could. They had learned that children coming out of trauma need a strong connection with one adult. Looking at their existing model, they realized that they provided for many of the children’s needs, including food, shelter, and education, but they weren’t set up to give every child such an important personal connection.

The first transition the home made was to create opportunities for children to develop relationships with adult team members. The second phase was to work with local churches to integrate children into foster families. The final step was to move from providing family-based care to providing children with permanent families. The director of the home reached out to many of the children’s biological mothers and discovered that many desired to reunite with their children and have them come home. The home worked with those families to ensure that each child could re-enter a safe, loving, and stable home. In the first year, eight children were reunified with their biological families and twelve children were placed in foster families while continuing to receive support from the home. All of the children now have the ability to build family-like connections and relationships within their care settings.

The shift in the children’s home was subtle but significant. Administrators and team members learned that when the model by which they operate is centered more on families instead of institutions, you create a home. And home is where children belong.

“Home is not the building, but the living community of relationships. Home is not the bed, but the tucking in at night with stories. Home is not the food, but the sharing of meals. Home is not the school routine, but the education of a life. Home encourages mind, body, heart and soul development. Children need home.” –Phil Aspegren, founder of Casa Viva

Tyndale House Foundation has partnered with Casa Viva since 2009, awarding more than $295,000 to support their work creating environments where children belong and thrive—homes.